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Ewan's Blog

Let’s do this.

Wednesday 07 Mar 2018

I’ve always thought of real estate as a profession so I’m thrilled that legislation will soon be passed that will officially raise the requirements around the education of agents to better reflect that status. The best in the business already recognise that to learn is to succeed so in my view, better mandatory standards will deliver better results. Hopefully it will also generate better public recognition of the invaluable service professional real estate agents provide. In my view everyone’s a winner.

It is no secret that I believe in continuous education. I encourage my kids to recognise that learning isn’t just for school and the Morton team know I believe there is always something new to learn: It’s not just for new recruits. At Morton we have agents who have been in the business for decades, but they’re never tempted to think they know it all! The best in the business understand the moment they think they know it all is the moment they will no longer be the best.

Which is why a requirement for more education is exciting. I hope it will open up new ways of learning within our profession that will deliver new ways of doing business better. I hope it will encourage more young people to see real estate as a fulfilling lifelong career. I know more stringent education standards will finally weed out those unprofessional, unscrupulous agents who have for too long undermined the reputation of our industry.

I do find it frustrating that real estate is a profession still much maligned. Of course it hasn’t helped our professional cause that some in our midst don’t do us proud. Nor does it help that a barista selling a $4 coffee needs requires more training than an agent selling a multi-million dollar property.

The fact most successful agents are massively motivated to improve their professional education is rarely recognised. I see that a majority of my colleagues in the industry see working in real estate as a privilege. We handle transactions that in most cases represent our clients biggest assets. That is a position of supreme trust.

Improved mandatory education standards and increased education requirements will silence the sceptics. I also hope it will foster a greater level of respect for the skill, knowledge and professionalism that exists within our industry.